Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
Parma has the most detailed tree permit rules of any city on this list, and the answer turns on the code's definitions rather than on tree size. A City Forester permit is required to plant or remove a public, commercial or multi-family residential tree. Parma defines "single family residential places" as undeveloped single-family-zoned lots over one acre — so if you own one of those, the permit rules reach you. For an ordinary developed house lot, the code's removal permit does not appear to apply, but Parma amended this chapter in April 2026 and the drafting is tangled, so call the Engineering Department before you cut.
What's protected in Parma
- Public trees — every shade and ornamental tree growing on any street or public place, including the treelawn between sidewalk and curb
- Commercial trees — trees on lots zoned Automobile Parking, Commercial/Office, Industrial, Research/Manufacturing or Industrial Park
- Multi-family residential trees — trees on lots zoned Multi-Family
- Single family residential trees — but note Parma defines a "single family residential place" as an undeveloped lot over one acre in a single-family, two-family or single-family cluster district
How to apply in Parma
- 1
Apply at the office of the City Forester no less than five days before the work is to be done. In an emergency the City Forester may waive the five-day notice.
- 2
Pay the tree removal permit fee set in PCO 185.05. Planting permits are free.
- 3
The permit holder must follow arboricultural specifications and standards of practice generally accepted by the trade.
- 4
If the lot is vacant or undeveloped, first present a landscaping proposal for the lot to the City Planning Commission under PCO 1105.02 and get it accepted.
- 5
If the lot is developed, first get written notice from the city Building Commissioner that the proposed removal does not violate or conflict with any landscaping plan previously approved for the lot.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- A tree removal permit fee is set in the general fee schedule at Parma Codified Ordinances 185.05. Tree planting permits are free: "There shall be no cost for a tree planting permit."
- Ordinance
- Codified Ordinances of Parma, Part Nine, Chapter 913 — Urban Forest (definitions at 913.01, permits at 913.03) and Chapter 911 — Trees (public place permit at 911.03, private property orders at 911.13, forestry and tree surgery work permits at 911.15 and 911.16). Chapter 913 was last amended by Ord. 31-26, passed April 6, 2026.
Worth knowing
- PCO 913.03(b) is the trap most homeowners miss. It requires a permit before you "make any excavation, place any fill, compact soil, or construct any building, structure, street, sidewalk, driveway, pavement or public utility within the dripline of any public, commercial, multi-family or single family residential tree." Dripline means the circle traced on the ground by the outermost branches. A new driveway or patio near a regulated tree needs the City Forester's sign-off.
- Parma also licenses the people who do the work. PCO 911.15 and 911.16 create Forestry and Tree Surgery Work Permits, valid one year, with a fee set in the Chapter 185 general fee schedule, and the Director of Public Service can revoke one for violating the chapter or for defrauding customers.
- PCO 911.03 covers the public side: no one may plant, remove, destroy, cut, prune, fertilize, treat, break, climb, injure or spray any tree on a public place, or tamper with a tree guard, without a written city permit.
- PCO 911.13 reaches private property but is an abatement power, not a permit. If the Director of Public Service finds a private tree infected with a parasite, insect, pest or fungus that threatens trees in public places, or decayed enough that it may fall across a sidewalk or public place, he serves written notice to treat or remove it. Ignore it and the city enters, does the work, and the cost becomes a lien on the property.
- The Service Department, at 440-885-8186, handles field work; the Engineering Department at 440-885-8110 houses the City Forester. Both are open Monday to Friday.
What we could not confirm
We would rather tell you what we don't know than guess. Call the office below to confirm these before you cut.
- — The dollar amount of the tree removal permit fee. Parma sets it in the PCO 185.05 fee schedule, which we did not read.
- — How Parma applies PCO 913.03(a) in practice to a normal developed single-family lot. The subsection lists the trees needing a removal permit as "any public, commercial or multi-family residential tree," which on the definitions in 913.01 would not include a shade tree in a developed back yard, but the same sentence names a "single family residential place" as a covered location. Ord. 31-26 amended this section on April 6, 2026 and we could not find a city explainer. Call 440-885-8110.
- — Any diameter threshold. Parma keys everything to zoning classification and dripline, not trunk size.
- — Penalties under PCO 913.99 and 911.99.
- — Parma's website is at cityofparma-oh.gov; the parmaohio.gov domain does not resolve.